While the recent spate of far-right riots and disorder seems to have abated, the anger that propelled them has not gone away. We must be wary of simplistic narratives and false cures.
The week of 29 July to 5 August 2024 witnessed the largest outbreak of far-right rioting and disorder in the post-war period.
Over that seven day period, a spate of extraordinarily violent far-right protests upturned towns and cities across the country, many of which spilled over into full-blown riots.
Far-right actors capitalised on the horrific killing of three children in Southport, Merseyside on 29 July, with a blizzard of disinformation that fed into a wave of protests across the country. These quickly became disconnected from the specifics of Southport and were fuelled by a broad anti-migrant, anti-Muslim, anti-multiculturalism and anti-Government agenda.
While some protests passed uneventfully, others saw mobs of masked thugs hurling missiles at police, fighting with counter-protesters, shouting far-right slogans and physically attacking minoritised ethnic communities. Vehicles were set ablaze, homes vandalised and shops opportunistically looted.
Others laid siege to mosques, and asylum accommodation centres in Rotherham and Tamworth were subjected to arson attempts – to the cheers of onlookers – while residents were still inside. A more detailed overview of the violence can be found here.
HOPE not hate has identified figures linked to numerous far-right organisations present at the protests and disturbances, including individuals from the now-defunct English Defence League, Patriotic Alternative, North East Infidels, North West Infidels, Britain First, National Rebirth Party, Blood & Honour, British Democrats, some of the UK’s foremost “migrant hunters” and more. We will release further details when reporting restrictions have been lifted.
However, these events are first and foremost a product of the “post-organisational” far right. Most of these disturbances emerged organically and primarily involved local people who are not members of any formal far-right organisations, but are plugged into decentralised far-right networks online.
Last week, the tide began to turn. In response to a widely circulated list singling out asylum and immigration offices for action, anti-fascists turned out in their thousands in a heartening show of strength and unity.
Moreover, at time of writing, over 1,000 people have been arrested and some have already received custodial sentences for their role in the disturbances. Many more are surely waiting nervously for a knock on the door.
While the recent reduction in activity is encouraging, we must guard against simplistic narratives that suggest that the danger has passed. We must also scrutinise the notion that state clampdowns and anti-fascist street mobilisations are cure-alls. The threat remains high and much work is still to be done.
On Monday 5 August, following the weekend of chaos, a list of 39 immigration and asylum services began circulating on extreme Telegram channels, alongside a call for action at 8pm that Wednesday.
HOPE not hate’s analysis at the time stressed that this “hit list” of aspirational targets did not fit with the pattern of organic, decentralised actions of the previous week. It had been local hostilities that drove the targeting of asylum centres in Rotherham and Tamworth, not the direction of a tiny non-local Telegram channel. It was therefore unsurprising that our monitoring indicated that very few far-right activists were planning to attend any such events.
Nonetheless, the list soon found an extremely wide circulation across social media and was widely taken as a catalogue of planned far-right mobilisations similar to those of the previous weekend. This resulted in a countrywide panic.
The anti-fascist response was swift and extensive. Huge numbers took to the streets across the country that Wednesday, dwarfing tiny far right turnouts in some locations and complete no shows in others.
This anti-fascist show of force, accompanied by unusually favourable frontpages, has changed the popular narrative. This in itself has helped to slow the far right’s momentum, deflating some activists who had been jubilant just days earlier. “50 years of anger, turned to ashes in a week. Pretty pathetic” wrote one miserable member of a far-right Telegram group.
Further protests scheduled for this past weekend have similarly failed to materialise or were utterly overshadowed by counter-protestors. As a whole, these small far-right protests remained peaceful, although one in Yeovil resulted in four arrests, including for racially aggravated public disorderly behaviour.
Meanwhile, HOPE not hate identified the individual we believe to have been behind the list and submitted a dossier of evidence to the police. Whilst we are limited in what we can say at present, this individual has since been apprehended and charged, making this the most significant arrest to date.
While anti-fascist victories should be celebrated, and arrests have undoubtedly drained the both capacity and enthusiasm from the far right, tensions remain high. It may not take much to set off yet more spontaneous disturbances in towns and cities across the UK.
Groups across the organised far right have taken the violence as proof that their anti-Muslim and anti-migrant talking points have cut through to the British public. Indeed, some have been greatly buoyed by the unrest, and will continue to pump out racist and conspiratorial narratives that – implicitly or explicitly – legitimise the actions of the rioters. This will feed back into the existing climate of prejudice from which the disturbances emerged in the first place.
For years, far-right talking points, including anti-migrant and anti-Muslim propaganda, have spread incrementally into mainstream political discussion, often via the right-wing commentariat and reactionary press. This in turn can push an issue up the far-right agenda. We have recently experienced a taste of just how destructive this cycle can be.
The extent and intensity of the brutality – which was streamed online for all to see – may also help to normalise violence among the far right. Far-right spaces online have long been awash with violent language. However, this summer we have seen far-right violence manifest on a previously-unmatched scale in post-war Britain. This may shift understandings of what is possible, legitimate and effective.
The frenzy of far-right violence over the past two weeks has been unprecedented. However, for all the arrests and counter-demos, there is every possibility that turmoil could occur on this scale again if we do not prioritise long term, concerted work around societal cohesion, and if our media and politicians do not implement far higher standards when discussing immigration, asylum seekers and the Muslim community.
The violence of the past two weeks, hot on the heels of one of the biggest far-right votes in British history, has laid bare the intensity of the racist resentments festering in towns and cities across the UK. We must meet this moment with honest reflection and crack on with the work ahead.
Stay tuned for further updates and analysis of the riots and the fallout.
HOPE not hate can reveal the location of plots of land in Wales owned by the Woodlander Initiative, a land-buying scheme with links to Patriotic…
